I guess the easiest way to categorize Nosy Neighbors would be a cozy mystery/save the ‘hood mashup, but really the storytelling approach here was moreI guess the easiest way to categorize Nosy Neighbors would be a cozy mystery/save the ‘hood mashup, but really the storytelling approach here was more like . . . .
You have the unlikeable curmudgeon who sits in her front window noting goings on she takes issue with throughout each day, you have the new resident who has some sort of history with the area that takes forever to disclose, you have another neighbor who was attacked in his house (thus, the mystery aspect), you have everyone who has pretty much avoided each other the entire time they’ve lived in the same building finally coming together for the common cause of hopefully stopping it from being redeveloped, you have potential love interests and long-held secrets, and on and on and on.
This wasn’t bad, but it definitely could have been whittled down 50-60 pages or a trope or two been eliminated in order for me to enjoy it more because I have been slogging through it for the past two days.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review....more
Welp I’ve done great this summer loving all the new releases that have been so well-received by the masses so I should have known my wrongreading geneWelp I’ve done great this summer loving all the new releases that have been so well-received by the masses so I should have known my wrongreading gene would rear its ugly head eventually. And here it is. This new Read With Jenna selection has been ALLLLL OVER The ‘Gram with everyone and their brother touting “the hype is real!!!� Then there’s me . . . .
So I’m just going to “spoil� something that comes out instantly, but apparently has peeved certain readers off about not being disclosed. Phoebe arrives at her vacay destination the Cornwall Inn in Rhode Island because it was always her dream to go there with her husband � but said husband left her for another woman so now Phoebe is there to end her life. Little does she know the entire hotel was supposed to have been rented out for a real shin-dig of a wedding. The blurb says Phoebe and the bride (Lila) “keep confiding in each other� � which I guess is true, but only because Lila literally keeps letting herself into Phoebe’s room with a master key she acquired from the hotel when she booked the whole place.
This one did not work for me whatsoever. From the “lighthearted� suicide attempt (Really? You’re going to off yourself with your cat’s pain medicine??? Did you bring eleventy pills to get the job done???) � to Phoebe accidentally crushing on the groom . . . but then absolutely NOT stopping communicating with him (Really? You want to kill yourself because of your husband’s affair and now are 100% developing some sort of emotional affair with a taken man on your own? Yuck.) � to Lila being a self-centered turd (Really? You have the nerve to complain about your mother nonstop when obviously the apple did not fall far from the tree.) � to SO. MUCH. NAVEL. GAZING.
Let’s get to the obvi � house cover. Duh. I’m going to read it. But truthfully this got put on my radar because a couple of friends said it
Let’s get to the obvi � house cover. Duh. I’m going to read it. But truthfully this got put on my radar because a couple of friends said it was giving them “House of Leaves vibes� . . . a book which they both hated. So lesson to all y’all out there who want to argue with strangers on the internet about having a different opinion than yours about books � one person’s trash is another’s treasure. I loved House of Leaves (and TOTALLY understand those who don’t because that book is an UNDERTAKING!) so that comparison made me put in a request at the library for this one. Then I saw the cover blurb calling this “Parasite meets Get Out� � and yeah, the House of Leaves comparison is actually a lot more accurate � especially since the racial/socioeconomic themes of the other two that made them so brilliant are completely lacking here. Now I see that Blake Lively is set to star in the film and well what a week to be Blake Lively. Things are getting a little messy on her “flowers and girls� night� problematic press tour.
This book is sort of a mess too. I mean really in the year of our lord 2024 I’m supposed to believe this chick is not only going to answer the door of her house way out in the boonies to a bunch of strangers, but also going to let them in for a trip down memory lane? I don’t even answer the door for the Amazon guy and he’s my best friend! It seemed like the author’s entire purpose was to create a “creepy� factor, but didn’t really have much of a plan for the actual plot. Everyone else seems to really be digging this, though, so chalk another L up on the board for me.
This one popped up on my radar because that farking cover is everything (I know, I know it's a face, but cartoon cover > face cover so it's an exceptiThis one popped up on my radar because that farking cover is everything (I know, I know it's a face, but cartoon cover > face cover so it's an exception to the rule). Then I saw The F*cking Twist was reading it and called it a stabby sort of “Shopaholic� � which, now that I have also read it I have to say . . .
Maybe things are getting lost in translation for me now that I’m attempting to dabble more into fiction in my audiobooks, maybe I’m just a Boomer (full disclosure � I am), but I really appear to be a wrongreader (or listener, as the case may be) here. It took a LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG time to finally come around to the big “reveal� being that female victims are perpetually blamed and the viral “night before� moment seemed (to me) a nasty kind of plotline in order to get there. The drunken unreliable female narrator that was so overused a few years ago was bad enough � throwing in these leading ladies who have experienced sexual assaults in order to progress the story from A-Z is even grosser to me.
Also, remind me if I decide to ever murder someone to do it across the pond. A body can be found with bruising around the neck AND wrists and instantly be declared accidental with no investigation or autopsy necessary? SCORE!...more
Last week I expressed my supreme inability to “get it� when it comes to the hype behind Freida McFadden stories, and here I am today with the newest RLast week I expressed my supreme inability to “get it� when it comes to the hype behind Freida McFadden stories, and here I am today with the newest Riley Sager. Once again I find myself looking a little like this upon finishing . . .
Maybe even moreso here because while Freida has her rabid fanbase, she also has a WHOOOOOOLLLLEEEE bunch of haters who are ready to tie her to the stake for being a “copycat� � yet those same people are apparently A-Okay with everything Sager rips off???? Like this new release that was originally maybe called Stranger Things, but without any of the interesting upside-downy bits.
So the story here is about Ethan whose pal Billy went missing from a backyard campout 30 years ago in the middle of the night and was never seen again. Don’t worry about it if you forget that part because you will literally be reminded EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE. In fact, basically that’s all that happens until the big reveal of what actually happened. Sager has been given giant accolades from his fans for delving into a male MC, but since dude had absolutely no personality whatsoever he could have been wallpaper and it wouldn’t have mattered. (Also, don’t forget this was the author who intentionally chose an ambiguous pen name in order to dupe chicks into maybe liking his stuff, so there’s also that.) The big reveal on this one was so underwhelming and the “twist� was dumb. But will I read whatever he releases next summer?
Sooooooo this was recommended by one of my real life book friends and it’s been getting rave reviews all over Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and The ‘Gram . . . .
Sooooooo this was recommended by one of my real life book friends and it’s been getting rave reviews all over Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and The ‘Gram . . . .
Yeah, I’m the wrongreader here. I felt absolutely zero connection to Clover and this story. It read like a Ted Talk on how to navigate the grieving process. I was hoping things would pick up in some sort of cutesie “Letters from Juliet� spin when the blast from the past romance angle was brought into the story, but even that fell flat. Glad it worked for so many, but it most definitely was not for me. ...more
Anybody see Shelby out there? Don’t tell her where I am.
“It’s the setup that is so fascinating,� said Wendy. “Two strangers meet on a tr
Anybody see Shelby out there? Don’t tell her where I am.
“It’s the setup that is so fascinating,� said Wendy. “Two strangers meet on a train, by accident. They get to talking and we find out one of them wants to kill his father, and the other has secret fantasies about killing his wife.
“They swap murders,� said Amanda, smiling and nodding. “Right. That way each of them can set up the perfect alibi, and they can’t be tied to the crime.�
So there is 100% NOTHING wroooooooooonnnnng with this story � it’s a classic. But that also ended up being a bit of a problem for me. I will read (and read and read and read) ANY reiteration/reimagining of Strangers On A Train. Since that’s the case, it’s simply a matter of liking others more than this. If you know me you know I’m not always a giant fan of additional perspectives, so I wasn’t super in to hearing from “Ruth� (and I guessed really early on the plot twist that was going to come). Suspension of disbelief is obviously a requirement to enjoy this one, and there are some glaring oddities like insistence of using a payphone rather than cell phones (because those are on every corner still) and a seeming unawareness of how the female reproductive system works. Also, blurbing “Hitchcock inspired� on a BOOK when said inspo was first a book itself written by Patricia Highsmith and only adapted to film by Hitchcock started me off with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Give credit where credit is due, authors. All in all, though, this was pretty fun. ...more
Let’s just go ahead and piss everyone off this morning, shall we?
I’ve tried to read Jeneva Rose three times now and am convinced I need to stop myselfLet’s just go ahead and piss everyone off this morning, shall we?
I’ve tried to read Jeneva Rose three times now and am convinced I need to stop myself from reading more before I turn into . . . .
In my defense the first one had potential � it just needed some work. The second and third both had great covers and I got them before Colleen Hoover’s name and blurb was plastered all over the front to serve as a warning for me. Rose’s stuff is the truly the literary/writing equivalent of CoHo’s style � only in the form of “thrillers� rather than romance. If that’s your jam, then she’s your gal.
Ooooof. This is a hard one. It had all sorts of swooney Ryan Goslingy types of dialogue to make a romantic heart go pitter-pat and while I knoooooooooOoooof. This is a hard one. It had all sorts of swooney Ryan Goslingy types of dialogue to make a romantic heart go pitter-pat and while I knooooooooooooooooow romance books aren’t steeped in reality, the plotline was sort of problematic for me.
I set aside the fact that most workplaces have anti-fraternization rules and simply went along with that trope for the sake of . . .
But this idea that the boy your entire family has blamed for your sister’s death for well over a decade somehow coinky-dinkily becomes not only your co-worker in a REAL niche profession of screenwriting, that also happens to be 100% across the country from where you grew up and then also can somehow become your love interest was a lot for my logical non-romantic brain. Also, I’m in a current phase where I prefer fade-to-black smexuals so all the dirty talk did absolutely nothing for either me or my lady garden.
When I tell you I was willing to shove people out of the way to get my hands on an early copy of Abbi Waxman’s latest release � I’m probably not exaggWhen I tell you I was willing to shove people out of the way to get my hands on an early copy of Abbi Waxman’s latest release � I’m probably not exaggerating much. That’s why it sucks so bad that I didn’t really love it.
I thought this was going to be a “maybe you can go home again� sort of story with an obvious addition of an unrequited love who now gets to be “quited� (I know that’s not a word). And the storyline of an “Amelia Earheart� or “D.B. Cooper� sort of long-thought dead dad returning from the wild had my attention. Sadly, nothing much even happened with the dad stuff until nearly 70% and I didn’t know I was signing up for a porny so that wasn’t really my idea of a great time either.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I still HIGHLY recommend Nina Hill or The Garden of Small Beginnings or Other People’s Houses or I Was Told It Would Get Easier. They all just made my chick lit loving heart go cluck cluck cluck.
2.5 Stars
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley! ...more
This one appears to be a major hit with most readers so take my average rating with a grain of salt. I’m going to blame my somewhat wrongread here on This one appears to be a major hit with most readers so take my average rating with a grain of salt. I’m going to blame my somewhat wrongread here on the fact that my husband and I are currently making our way through the Hulu version of Mr. and Ms. Smith and the plot here was very much . . .
With a “Mr. Smith� providing the “Hihi� types of instructions for various missions to our leading lady and a timehoppy sort of narrative that went back and not only explained some of those tasks, but also came full circle with some of the marks.
This was a perfectly enjoyable read � actually better than most of Reese’s selections. Keep this on your TBR/your name on the library list if it’s already there. ...more
THIS is the author everyone on the social media craps their drawers about?????
I dared to Google “Why is Freida McFadden so popular� becauseTHIS is the author everyone on the social media craps their drawers about?????
I dared to Google “Why is Freida McFadden so popular� because truly, my mind? She be blown. The first response (from Reddit � oh how I love the subReddits) states “I get why it's popular because it's fast paced and a very easy read but the plot is so derivative and the writing style is so annoying.� To that I say � PREACH.
Talk about an easy reader. The plot (LOL plot!) here starts with a body being buried in the woods. You then meet the “teacher� (teacherS in this case since Eve is married to a fellow educator named Nate) and their student Addie. It doesn’t take much of an I.Q. to figure out EVERYTHING that is going to happen so I have no idea what “twists� people cream their jeans over. Maybe they are contained in her other books???? (Sidenote to anyone thinking of making a drinking game every time “shoes� are mentioned. Don't do it. You will die from alcohol poisoning.)
Apparently she has a real rabid fanbase so I guess I can look forward to potentially getting trolled for eternity like I have for nearly a decade by the Cohorts (note to trolls - I delete and block you rather than engage so have a blessed day and maybe go outside and touch some grass). It also appears from my quick one minute search of the interwebs that she apparently is a copycat so the half that don’t love her want her cancelled. Bottom line? No matter what we readers/reviewers can’t win. But before any of you go all keyboard commando please note that popcorn thrillers like these are a dime a dozen and trying to claim Freida steals from Riley Sager, an author who admittedly makes his millions reimagining others� tales, isn’t gonna hold up in court. I was looking to venture out of my comfort zone of listening to memoirs during my “Walk ‘n Talk� and this was so easy to follow while I attempted to kiss every dog that crossed my path on the trail at the park that I will most likely end up picking her stuff up over and over again. And most likely also give them 2 Stars max.
(For audiobook listeners - I thought the narration was quite good.) ...more
What in the Wattpad Misery fanfiction did I just read?????? I’m assuming this selection was a “Bookstagram Made Me Do Itâ€� because I have no recollectiWhat in the Wattpad Misery fanfiction did I just read?????? I’m assuming this selection was a “Bookstagram Made Me Do Itâ€� because I have no recollection of why this got put on my TBR, but when my turn at the library came up and I saw the low page count I figured what the hay. I also noticed my few Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� friends who read this all 5-Starred it, so once again I am a horrible wrongreader who will roast in the fiery pits of some literary hell once I pass on.
The premise here is a drunken female author narrator (so original!) who gets contacted by a movie producer wanting to potentially turn one of her books into a feature film. Apparently Harvey Weinstein doesn’t exist in this chick’s world because she agrees to a meeting at his house . . . where he proceeds to Dollar Store version Annie Wilkes the crap out of her.
Note to youngsters who might not be old enough to understand the reference, but if you ever meet someone for the first time and think to yourself . . .
“If Ben Linus from Lost had a twin, this would be him.�
Well . . . .
And if you manage to get out of captivity more than once only to be retrieved again and again????
My reactions to Emily Henry’s books have gone down star by star each new release � to the point where I have so far managed to avoid Happy Place placeMy reactions to Emily Henry’s books have gone down star by star each new release � to the point where I have so far managed to avoid Happy Place place completely. But then I got an email offering me this one and . . . .
Not to mention I am well aware of how lucky I am to be someone who receives Berkley widgets so I’m not about to look that gift horse in the mouth.
Cute, right? You’re right. It is cute. This one will most likely make Henry fans swoon because all of the rom com feels will be felt. But I didn’t much like either of the main characters so it didn’t quite work for me. Note to Miles: It doesn’t matter how many people say you’re a “great guy.� If you are so easily distracted and get caught up in random conversations that make you late for scheduled dates/your job/whatever � you’re kind of NOT so great. Punctuality is a real thing for me � especially if you plan on some before dawn sort of excursion. Don’t come to me with coffee and an excuse, just GTFOOH. And note to Daphne: You are not a good friend. If you never let anyone in, they certainly aren’t the jerks for choosing to hang out with other people. And again, if you make plans with someone like me and then stand me up? You can GTFOOH too and don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya on your way out.
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Book #2 in my annual quest for a new coffee mug . . . .
I attempted (and failed) to clean out my “Currently Reading� items (FYI � I only read one book at a time and listen to one audio) last week by simply I attempted (and failed) to clean out my “Currently Reading� items (FYI � I only read one book at a time and listen to one audio) last week by simply throwing ratings on some books I found to be average. Then I realized not only was this an ARC from NetGalley so I should probably spew something out about it, but that nearly all of my friends had 4 or 5 Starred it so I decided to give it a quick re-read . . . . and yeah, I stand by my 3 Stars.
The premise here is about a grieving mother who from all appearances simply walked away from her car and into the middle of a storm. A note is found at a local casino hotel room saying “don’t look for me.� We then fall into a dual narrative � one by the missing mother starting day one after she has disappeared and one by the daughter who is not willing to accept that she is gone starting thirteen days after her mother’s disappearance. The story unfolds until the two timelines converge.
I think my mediocre rating for this one can be blamed on a few things. First, when there are only a limited amount of characters the red herring suspects always seem pretty easy for me to spot. Which leads to a big “DUHHHHHH� moment when I finally get told whodunit. ACTUAL SPOILER AHEAD:(view spoiler)[Not to mention how severely disappointed I am whenever a leading lady turns into some dumb bimbo sexing up the baddy. (hide spoiler)] And unlike this lady . . . .
I do seem to prefer my thrillers to either be campy fun or black as Mitchell’s heart so the Lifetime Television for Women types of tales just aren’t always my jam. (If you are looking for a missing person story that will knock you right out of your shoes, I highly recommend The Trap.) As for this one, when the shit about the apples came in, I was definitely NOT feeling like . . . .
And then the extra “twisty� reveal at the end?
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley! ...more
While this has an extremely high Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� rating, I’m happy to see a mixed bag of reactions from my friends so I’m not fDear Rom-Commers:
While this has an extremely high Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� rating, I’m happy to see a mixed bag of reactions from my friends so I’m not feeling like quite such an outlier. I was totally willing to blame myself and the giant bookhangover I’m currently experience (for the first time in eons), but really compared to some of Katherine Center’s earlier stuff, this was just serviceable.
The story here is about an aspiring screenwriter who gets paired with a seasoned vet (of the action/alien/shoot-em-up film varieties) to polish a real turd of a rom com he has committed to creating in order to get the greenlight on his passion project � a �70’s mafia film. Credit where credit is due, the characters were both likeable enough (although I certainly wouldn't want to be in a relationship with either one of them) and Center is great at banter. I just didn’t feel much chemistry and think her best work is more chick lit with a tinge of romance. Also, as a lover of a “cartoony cover� I much preferred when she did the floral ones � these cartoon people aren’t cute. And, as always, my Roman Empire is stop writing epilogues for every romance. So unnecessary. Just give me the happily for now and call it a day.
I was all prepared to say I have such a better result with the Read With Jenna selections than I do with America’s Darling, Reese . . . and
I was all prepared to say I have such a better result with the Read With Jenna selections than I do with America’s Darling, Reese . . . and then this one came along.
Chain Gang All-Stars tackles the penal system the same way S.A. Cosby tackled homophobia in Razorblade Tears . . . with a lot of gore and a heavy-handed Ted Talk sort of delivery. Per usual, the people who need a lesson on how unjust the American justice system can be will 100% be the people who would never even consider reading this. For me dystopia stories just aren’t really my jam to begin with and since I’m an old lady this had a been there/done that vibe a la the afore-giffed Mad Max, Gladiator, The Running Man, The Hunger Games, etc., etc., etc. but this one was somehow extremely boring.
Oh, and I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATE bajillions of footnotes. (Because I am stupid and a wrongreader. There, save your breath folks. I trolled myself so you don’t have to.) ...more
I just took a second to look at the overall Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� rating along with my friendsâ€� individual Star reactions to this one and it turns out I’m the naI just took a second to look at the overall Å·±¦ÓéÀÖâ€� rating along with my friendsâ€� individual Star reactions to this one and it turns out I’m the naysayer of the bunch. You know what that means, right????
Ha! Just kidding. Everyone is aware that I’m usually the wrongreader. The main reason I didn’t vibe with this one was not because it was farfetched � I’m down for some fun with my thrillers � it was a combination of this supposed grifter type of conwoman being so easy to fool and a supposed “zany� thriller that really did not tickle my funny bone after the first couple of chapters.
I’m over 100 reviews behind for the year, so that’s all I have to say. Everyone else really liked it, so it was probably just wrong place/wrong time for me. ...more
I went into this one blind. All it takes sometimes is a snappy title, folks! I had not read this author before (because Kitchens of the Great MidwestI went into this one blind. All it takes sometimes is a snappy title, folks! I had not read this author before (because Kitchens of the Great Midwest was a title that did NOT grab my attention, but I’ll be rectifying that shortly). To keep it brief and without any spoilsies, just know things all start off with a mom who needs a ride home from the church pancake breakfast from the daughter she has been estranged from for years who is prevented from said Ubering thanks to getting in a head-on with the local fauna.
We then timehop back to 1934 to Florence’s story � then to the 1980s and Ned’s and eventually back to the present with Mariel . . . . and her mother who has now been holed up in the church waiting for that ride for over two months.
If you are familiar with me at all you know that I am a sucker for a family story and when it comes to dramedies that also involve restaurant ownership? Well . . . .
If you enjoyed Marrying the Ketchups or The Chicken Sisters or We are the Brennans run, do not walk to get a copy of this one. And serve it with a relish tray . . . .
Kelly (and the Book Boar)
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